Glossary of Terms

Categories of Glass

Figurative window: Contains one or more figures.Narrative window: Contains religious or secular scenes.Legendary window: Has many small scenes (usually a large collection of windows in a church wall).Mixed window: Full colour panels, usually with people and decorative painted panels of pale or clear glass.

Stained Glass Terms

Antique Glass: Mouth blown sheet glass with the irregularity of "medieval" glass. Glass blown into a large cylinder that is cut, opened and flattened into a sheet. Variations of antique glass may include seedy, crackle, flashed, opal, and streaky. "Antique" refers to the technique - not the age.

Armature: A metal divisional bar or bars making a framework for supporting stained glass, usually fixed into a wall.

Art Deco: The style of work produced in the early twentieth century.

Art Glass: Opaque, variegated colours in which the light is held and refracted internally.

Art Nouveau: French for "The New Art", an art movement popular in the 1890's and early 1900's in Europe and America. A busy, decorative style characterized by flowing vines, flat shapes and undulating lines.

Bar/Barring: A solid metal bar, often steel, held by copper wire ties or solder directly to the interior of stained glass windows for support and reinforcement.

Bevel: Cut and polished edge usually on plate glass at an angle other than 90 degrees, done in stages with roughing, smoothing, cork and felt wheel polishing.

Black Patina: A chemical solution to colour a solder black.

Bull's Eye: The raised twist of glass at the centre of a sheet of hand blown glass.

Cane: the "H" or "U" shaped lead bar used to hold the pieces of glass together to form a stained glass window. The centre part is called the heart (or core) and the sides are called the leaves (flange wings).

Cartoon: Full size working drawing showing detail of leading and painting.

Jean Cousin: The 16th century painter at Sens who developed pigment for flesh tones. The pigment still carries his name.

Lancet: A long narrow window with a pointed arch.

Negative Space: Any part of a glass window through which no light is transmitted (Black or painted glass).

Paint (for glass): A mixture of finely ground glass, metallic oxides and a liquid mixing agent, such as water and gum arabic, used for painting on glass.Ý It has to be fired at 1200 degrees F for permanent adhesion.

Plating (or Doubling): Putting a second piece of glass over a portion of a panel to alter the colour or for reinforcing old glass.

Pressed Glass: Machine rolled sheet glass, one patterned surface.

Quarries: Diamonds or rectangles of glass leaded together in a lattice design.

Reed Glass: Clear glass with half circle ribs.

Rondel: Usually a circular section of glass with a painted religious or secular scene, popular in both 16th and 19th century English windows.

Rose Window: A circular window divided by tracery, usually on the large west wall of a cathedral.

Saddle Bar: The T-bar metal part of the armature that goes horizontally between an upper and lower window panel.

Silver Stain: Liquid silver nitrate put on the opposite side from the hand painting. When fired, turns various shades of yellow.

Stained Glass: Glass that is coloured during manufacture, cut into a design, and assembled to make a window.

Tie Wires: Copper wires soldered to the panel and twisted around a saddle bar to provide window strength.